Cabinet



March 21, 1944.

M. L. BUTCHER 2,344,800

CABINET Filed Sept. 16, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fr v u r INVENTOR MAUDE L. Bu TCHER ATTORNEYS L March 21, 1944. M. BUTCHER CABINET Filed Sept. 16, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BUTCHER ATTORNEYS Mauas BY Patented Mar. 21, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CABINET Maude L. Butcher, Seattle, Wash.

Application September 16, 1942, Serial No. 458,512

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a cabinet and more particularly to portable cabinets which are interiorly subdivided for the segregation of contents.

In certain respects the prior art relating to cabinets of the type disclosed in this invention has been defective due to the fact that the cabinets that have been produced are either too complicated, or the parts improperly correlated and poorly designed and without other than very specific usefulness.

It is an important object of my invention, having in mind the defects of the prior art, to provide a cabinet that is simple and easy to construct and which will be extremely useful for storage of various articles and providing e'fllcient and ready access to those contents when desired.

Another object of my invention is to provide, in a cabinet of the type described, an arrangement of shelves and drawers and compartments,

all of which are readily accessible when the cabinet walls are opened.

A still further and more specific object of my invention is to provide, in a cabinet of the type described, lighting means which shines throughout the entire interior of the cabinet, making more convenient the use thereof.

The foregoing objects and others ancillary thereto I prefer to accomplish as follows:

According to a preferred embodiment of my invention, I join together certain exterior walls to define a rectangular cabinet. Within said cabinet I provide a plurality of shelves that are designed to receive and at the same time display the contents of the cabinet. On certain of the shelves I provide drawers. Cooperable between a movable wall of the cabinet and said set of drawers is provided means for causing the drawers to be pulled out of their normal closed position and disposed for ready access to their contents when said wall is moved. For the purpose of illuminating these drawers, mirrors and a light source are arranged 1 Figure 1 is a perspective view of my cabinet in th opened position,

Figure 21s a fragmentary sectional perspective view of my cabinet, with the lid removed,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional perspective view of my cabinet on a plane similar to that of Figure 2, but at a lower level,

Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cabinet, in the closed position,

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 4, but showing the cabinet in the open position, and

Figure 6 is an exploded view in Perspective of certain latch means employed in connection with the drawers of the cabinet.

The cabinet itself comprises the bottom wall 10, from which rise the end walls l2 and M. A back wall l6 extending between the upper ends of the end walls and having its lower edge terminating in spaced relation to the bottom wall I0 serves to tie the previously described end walls together in a semi-rigid manner.

The opening I8 between th lower edge of the wall l6 and the bottom wall I0 is closed by door 20, hinged at 22 to the bottom wall and secured by latch means 34. The entire opposite face of the cabinet is closed by a wall door 24 hinged at 26 to the bottom wall In. The upper face of the cabinet is defined by the door or wall 28 hinged at 30 to the upper end of the rear wall 16. Wall 24 is latched in the closed position shown in Figure 4 to Wall 28 by latch means 3i which is of the nature of a luggage hasp. A handle 32 serves to provide ready means for carrying the cabinet.

Within the interior of the cabinet is a shelf which comprises the non-transparent portion 36 and the transparent or glass portion 38, both lying in substantially the same plane. Between the shelf 36, 38 and the cover 28 of the cabinet and around the inner walls is a rack 40 as for bottles which has a plurality of loops 42 designed according to any suitable pattern for the reception and positioning of vari-shaped bottles or containers that it may be desired to dispose within the cabinet.

In the upper compartment and preferably in one of the end walls is a light socket 44 having a bulb 46 associated therewith within the cabinet. A cord 48 has a prong plug 49 for association with any convenient electrical outlet. The cord may be removed from the socket 44 by pulling the plug 50 and in that event the cord may be stowed within the cabinet.

Below the shelf 36, 38 and in spaced relation to the bottom of the cabinet is another intermediate shelf 52 which is mounted at its ends on the end walls l2, ll of the cabinet and the major portion of which is cut away at 54 as shown in Figure 3. Upon this shelf a plurality of drawers 66, 51 and 5B are mounted for slid ing movement. At the rear of the drawers: the side walls are extended to provide openings 69 and 60 in which the shaft M is mounted. The rear wall 62 of the drawers is caused to angularly overhang the shaft 6!. Upon the inner face of this overhanging portion Within the drawer is mounted a mirror 55.

Upon shaft ti is a pivoted pawl 66 which has a cam face 617. A coil spring 68 is anchored at one end in the hole 69 in a drawer wall and at the other end in the hole ill of the detent or pawl 66, and intermediately is coiled about the shaft 5!. The mechanism just described is use ful in cooperation with draft means devised for drawing out the drawers as the wall door 26 of the cabnet is opened. Between member 26, extending along the inner faces of the end walls i2 and 55, are the draft links 12. Their rear ends terminate adjacent a slot M in a depending flange of the shelf 52 and a rod it joins the links 12 together by passing through the slots it. Rod 76 thus extends across the rear opening 541 in the shelf 52, as may be clearly seen in Figures 3 and 4. The downwardly extending pawl member 66 is in the path of movement of the rod iii as it moves forwardly when the door 24 of the cabinet is opened. The drawers are pulled or extended to the position indicated in Figure 1. The forward end of slot Ed dips to such an extent that rod it drops, in the last short distance of its travel, out of engagement with the pawl flit. In that event, the drawers may be closed, even though the front of the cabinet is open.

The door, when subsequently closed, causes the rod it to move rearwardly in its guiding slot it. When contact is made with the pawl 66 upon the cam face 6'5, the pawl will swing, let the rod pass and then, due to the action of the spring, snap back in place. To position the detent against movement in the opposite direction, however, a ing it on the inner face of the mount ing wall of the drawer is contacted by the horn 173 on the pawl as can .be seen in Figures 4, 5 and 6.

When the bulb 46 is ignited the upper compartment above shelf 36, 3B is fully lighted. Light also passes through the glass portion 33 of the upper shelf, impinges against the mirror 66 in the manner suggested by dashed lines in Figure 5, and is directed to flood throughout the interior of each drawer. Such light also passes through the transparent portion 38 of the shelf and the opening 56 in. shelf 52 into the space below the shelf 52, lighting the space so that tools or any other manner of content of that particular portion of the cabinet may be readily visible.

The inner face of wall door 24 and the [bottoms of the drawers 56, 5i and 58 may be faced with a covering of felt or other fabric 78 to prevent the marring or injury to any tools, or contents which may be laid thereon.

Although I have shown and described certain aeeasoo specific embodiments of my invention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof are possible. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted, except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and the spirit of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A cabinet, comprising: a plurality of walls joined at their edges to enclose a space, an upright wall of said group being hinged along its lower edge, a shelf above the bottom and extending from the side of the space closed by said hinged wall to a medial position within the area and providing thereby a communication opening from the space above to the space below the shelf, a drawer slidable upon said shelf and having a lug extending downwardly through said opening, guide ways under said shelf, a bar mounted in said guide ways and movable below the shelf to engage said lug on the drawer, and link means between the hinged wall and said bar to move the latter upon opening movement of the hinged wall to slide said drawer outwardly upon the shelf.

2. A cabinet, comprising: a plurality of walls joined at their edges to enclose a space, an upright wall of said group being hinged along its lower edge, a shelf above the bottom and extending from the side of the space closed 'by said hinged wall to a medial position within the space and providing thereby a communication opening from the space above to the space below the shelf, a drawer slidable upon said shelf and having a lug extending downwardly through said opening, guide ways under said shelf and having downturned forward ends, a bar mounted in said guide ways and movable below the shelf to engage said lug on the drawer, said bar disengaging said lug upon paming into the downturned ends to release the drawer for inward movement, and link means between the hinged wall and said bar to move the latter upon opening movement of the hinged wall to slide said drawer outwardly upon the shelf. 1

3. A cabinet, comprising: a plurality of walls joined at their edges to enclose a space, an upright wall of said group being hinged along its lower edge, a shelf above the bottom and extending from the side of the space closed by said hinged wall to a medial position within the space and providing thereby a communication opening from the space above to the space below the shelf, a drawer slidable upon said shelf and having a pivoted spring-pressed detent extending downwardly through said opening, guide ways under the shelf, a bar mounted in the guide ways to engage the detent on the drawer, and link means between the hinged wall and said bar to move the latter upon opening movement of the hinged wall to slide said drawer outwandly upon the shelf, said guide ways being downturned at the outer end whereby said bar may drop out of enga ement with the detent near the end of its outw rd travel, said detent being swihgable to permit the reengagement of the bar therebehind upon rearward movement of the bar. 1 MAUDE L. BUTCHER. 

